California State University, Long Beach
Chicano & Latino Studies Dept.

1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90840-1004
Tel. (562) 985.2093
Fax (562) 985.4631

E-Mail: Maria.Pacho@csulb.edu

Maria T. Pacho was born and raised in the Boyle Heights area in the City of Los Angeles.  Professor Pacho graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts in Mexican American Studies.  She continued her graduate education at Loma Linda University, School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health, with emphases in Health Administration and Community Health Promotion/Education.

Professor Pacho has taught at CSULB in the Chicano and Latino Studies Department since the Fall of 1999. Her class entitled Latina/o Health Status and Health Care Access is an interdisciplinary course on the health status and access issue affecting the Latino population in the US. She has taught at Charles Drew University School of Medicine and Science teaching Introduction to Public Health and Cultural Competency in Healthcare. In 2000, Maria was elected Commission President for the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority Commission also known as Olvera Street. She secured funding with the Getty for the restoration of the Siqueiros Mural.

She funded the Gloria Pacho Memorial Scholarship at CSULB, Resurrection Catholic School and will be awarding a Special Needs Student at East Los Angeles City College.

Professor Pacho holds a full-time position as an auditor for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Prior to her work in local government, she has worked for various Latino non-profit organizations such as Alta Med Health Services. She brings her expertise from the health care arena to her classroom.

In late 2022, her article Preserving Your Inner Beauty – Mastering Your Emotional Intelligence on a Feminine Level was published in the Los Angeles Journal. Her mission in her writing is to help young women know their worth as they interface workplace and life’s challenges.

She continues her childhood hobby Ballet Folklorico.  In addition, she continues to mentor her students entering the professions of medicine, public health, social work and health care administration.

Research Papers/Reports

• Comprehensive Care or Episodic Care? Health Care services for the Undocumented Latino Population in California.
• Health Care Access to a Primary Care Provider for the Undocumented Latino in the State of California.
• Effects of Acculturation on Prenatal Care Behaviors and Birth Outcomes in the First and Second Generation Mexican Women.
• Latinos View on Proposition 187 and the Catholic Church
• Cancer Screening and Risk Reduction for Latina Women in Los Angeles County